Window on Canada : Via Rail Canada

Via Rail Canada arrives in Courtenay on Vancouver Island in the early fall of 2008. Photo by Sue Frause

1,200 Canadiana treasures acquired

This is big news for Canadian art, treasure and history lovers. I first saw it on CBC Monday night, and The Province ran a story about it:

Treasure trove of Candiana repatriated from England

It took two years of negotiations by Library and Archives Canada, the National Gallery of Canada and the Canada Museum of Civilization. The collection of 1,200 artworks, artifacts and historical documents is from the estate of the late Peter Winkworth of Montreal.

Canada Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. The museum is located across the river from Ottawa.
Photo by Sue Frause.

New mayor for Vancouver; city council members volunteer to take lie detector test about leak to the press

There's a change of personnel coming up at Vancouver City Hall. Gregor Robertson won the race for mayor of this 2010 Olympics city, defeating Peter Ladner (yes, as in Ladner, BC). Robertson will take over from current Mayor Sam Sullivan. For the full story, read the article in the National Post: Vision takes Vancouver: Robertson declared new mayor.

While Robertson was all smiles during his victory celebration at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, some of the current Vancouver City Council members can look forward to taking a lie detector test. A story in The New York Times, Financing of 2010 Winter Games a worry, has the details.

Getting those 2010 Olympics tix

Canadian Olympic enthusiasts have submitted more than $345 million in requests for tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter and Paralympic Winter Games during the Phase 1 Request Period, available only to Canadians. VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Games) reports that as of Nov. 7, 2008 an estimated 120 of 170 ticketed sessions were "oversubscribed" due to demand exceeding availability.

In terms of dollars, Canadians have already requested approximately four and a half times the value of tickets for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games ($345 million over five weeks), compared to the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games ($75 million over nine weeks).

Tickets that were not purchased during the Phase 1 Request Period will be re-released for sale exclusively to Canadian residents who submitted a request during the Request Period — called the Priority Access Period (Dec. 8-22, 2008). During this time, account holders may purchase additional tickets before they are made available to the wider Canadian public. Tickets remaining after this period will go on sale to the public on a first-come, first-served basis in 2009.

For folks like me living south of the 49th Parallel, tickets may be purchased by USA residents through CoSport, an authorized ticket sales agent of the US Olympic Committee. Here's their timeline:

* Oct. 3-Nov. 7, 2008: Ticket Request Phase
* Mid-December 2008: Ticket Allocation and Confirmation
* February/March 2009: Live Ticket Sales commence (first-come, first-served sales of remaining available tickets)

Well, not only did I miss CoSport's Ticket Request Phase, I wasn't among the 200+ members of the media invited to the Vancouver 2010 World Press Briefing in Vancouver and Whistler Nov. 18-21. The elite group represents international news wire services, photo agencies, newspapers, internet sites and non-rights holding broadcast organizations around the world.

I have a have a hunch I won't make the final cut for the actual 2010 Games, either. The International Olympic Committee has established a quota of 2,800 accreditations.

2,801?

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler Feb. 12- 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will also host the Paralympic Winter Games March 12-21, 2010. Photo by Sue Frause.

Holt Renfrew Vancouver a beauty

Sad to say that that although Holt Refrew's new store in Vancouver opened more than a year ago, I hadn't popped in until my most recent visit to Vancouver. It's a beauty. Having outgrown its space in Pacific Centre, it's now just across the skybridge in a new bright and airy space.

It's Holt Renfrew's first new store in more than a decade and also features Holts Salon & Spa Vancouver. The day spa carries the Sisley Paris line of luxury treatments and cosmetics and is the first in North America to offer eight exclusive Phyto Aromatique facials.

Holts is also the first in Canada to offer the Halcyon Day Spa philosophy by providing non-surgical anti-aging treatments, as well as a complete array of massage and beauty services and luxurious amenities.

The skybridge on the way to Holt Renfrew in Vancouver
Photo by Sue Frause

Kendra Schaaf of Saskatchewan : Runner from Craven now a UW Husky in Seattle

It was fun reading the sports section of The Seattle Times on Sunday. Generally, I whip through the pages faster than an Olympic sprinter, but the feature story about Kendra Schaaf of Saskatchewan drew me in. You can read Jerry Brewer's story about the University of Washington cross-country runner here:

Runner Kendra Schaaf is a timid force for Washington

And here's Kendra's official bio from the Huskies roster.

Run, Kendra, run!


Photo by Joshua Sawka of the Leader-Post (Regina)

Canada boasts three top 10 islands

Canada can be proud of its islands. In Conde Nast Traveler's Readers Choice Awards, Canada has three islands that made it in the Top 10 North American Islands category. And for the seventh year in a row, Vancouver Island takes first place honors in Conde Nast Traveler's Top 10 North American Islands.

BC's Gulf Islands placed #4, while Prince Edward Island came in right behind at #5. The magazine's annual awards are in the November 2008 issue -- you can also see the results by logging onto their interactive map.

Top 10 North American Islands

Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Kiawah, South Carolina
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Gulf Islands, British Columbia
Prince Edward Island, Canada
Amelia Island, Florida
Hilton Head, South Carolina
Mount Desert Island, Maine
San Juan Islands, Washington
Mackinac, Michigan
Sanibel, Florida

Low tide at Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island
Photo by Sue Frause

Americans no longer fleeing to Canada

There were plenty of Americans threatening to move to Canada, Mexico or spots elsewhere if another four years of Republican rule was what we were going to have to endure under John McCain.

Non, merci as they say in Quebec!

Fortunately, Barack Obama is the 44th President of the USA, so we won't have to pack up our bags and head north (or south). What I'm surprised at is the rapt interest of the Candians in our election. Not just a passing glance at the news, but deep interest, even among kids.

A friend of mine in Victoria, BC said his ten-year-old was texting him on Election Night -- he was following it as if it was The Stanley Cup championship. Ten years old!

All I know is it's going to be a lot easier saying I'm an American with someone in the White House who truly gets it. We're in a big mess, for sure. Much of it due in part to a guy by the name of George Bush. But we Americans will rally and do what we do best : Figure out how to make it right.

Thank you, Canada, for being such a loyal friend all these years!

Kenmore Air on Seattle's Lake Union to Tofino, BC
Photo by Sue Frause

Only seven months 'til summer!

April Point Resort & Spa on Quadra Island
Photo by Sue Frause

Canadians congratulate US on Obama

I received plenty of "Congratulations!" from my Canadian Facebook friends about last night's historic election. Yes, Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States.

Politically speaking, Canada will have to get used to the USA's new CEO. Here are just a few of the articles running in the Canadian press following the election:

The Globe and Mail : Canada quietly adjusts to Obama's agenda

cbcnews.ca : Is Obama's election good for Stephen Harper?

Canwest News Service : Under Obama, challenges for Canada loom

But the elections aren't over in Canada. Quebec is having one on Dec. 8. Read more about it here.

Canadian flag at BC's Rockwater Secret Cove Resort & Spa
Photo by Sue Frause

Montreal comedians "prank" Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin probably doesn't want her last big news story to be about how she was "pranked" by two Montreal comedians. But there she goes again.

The Montreal comedian duo called the Masked Avengers pulled off a good one on the Republican VP candidate. You can hear/see snippets of it here on CTV or in its entirety via The Huffington Post.

Sarah Palin and Tina Fey paid a visit to our house on Halloween. Rich Frishman masks, Sue Frause photo.

enRoute's top new restos for 2008

I've got some serious Canadian dining to do. After an intensive five-week tour de force covering a dozen Canadian cities and 30+ restaurants, Air Canada's enRoute magazine and its contributing editor Chris Johns have revealed Canada's ten best new restaurants. They are featured in the November issue of enRoute.

Top honors went to Toronto's Nota Bene, described here by Chris Johns:

"Chef David Lee and his business partners Yannick Bigourdan and Franco Prevedello have created a restaurant that is both democratic and elite. The kitchen relies on Asian and Latin flavours for its inspiration, filtering and refining them int he process. In restaurant lingo, the notation NB (for nota bene) next to a reservation indicates that the party is to be treated with special care and attention. Here the term applies to everyone."

The other top restaurants are:

2. Le Local, Montreal

3. The Harbord Room, Toronto

4. Chef's Table, Calgary

5. Boneta, Vancouver

6. The Only On King, London (Ontario)

7. Lucien, Toronto

8. Fraiche, West Vancouver

9. Liverpool House, Montreal

10. Stage, Victoria

Also featured in November's issue is a special report on food trends and where Canada's finest restaurateurs are headed in the coming year.

Stage in Victoria, BC
Photo by Sue Frause

Happy Halloween from Quebec!

Ville de Dunham, Eastern Townships of Quebec
Photo by Sue Frause

2010 One-Year Countdown Celebration kicks off with Sarah McLachlan

Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan headlines a stellar all-Canadian program for a concert to celebrate the official one-year countdown to the 2010 Winter Games. On Feb. 12, 2009, Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre welcomes the Juno and Grammy award winning musician, who will perform songs from her 20-year multi-platinum recording career.

The evening program, which begins at 7:30 PM, also features the alternative rock of Halifax singer and songwriter Joel Plaskett; the dynamic young Canadian violinist Adrian Anantawan; and Alberta Ballet’s performance of If -- an excerpt from the 2007 ballet The Fiddle and Drum by Joni Mitchell and choreographer Jean Grand-Maître.

Tickets for the One-Year Countdown Celebration go on sale Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008 at www.vancouver2010.com/culturalolympiad.